Northampton hospital pathology workers take action

Unite members in Pathology at Northampton General Hospital (NGH) commenced industrial action at midnight on 25 June.

Messages of support can be emailed to their senior rep Terry Lodge:

Terrence.Lodge@ngh.nhs.uk

The dispute is over plans to slash out-of-hours payments by 80%. The hospital trust is spending up to £1 million a year on eight locum pathologists - more than double any cost saving.

Biomedical scientists working for NGH voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action (82.7%) and action short of strike in response to the trust's move to tear up a decade-old agreement and impose onerous new terms.

Unite members were given 90 days to sign new contracts or be sacked. The new contracts will see workers forced to double their night time shifts from 7 days in 14 weeks to 14 days in 14 weeks while out-of-hours payments are slashed by 80%. Members face losing £6,000 a year.

The union has expressed frustration with the hospital management's refusal to engage in meaningful negotiations to resolve the row which has been ongoing since July 2013.